Skoura Population

Skoura Population

The Ahl Skoura, the Ahl Todgha as well as the Ahl Dades is a tribe of more cadastral rather than ethnic scattered in the numerous Ksour of the palm grove and in the oasis of this part of the Dades. Together they form a branch of the big Berber family of Masmouda, with a tint of Arab blood, which slightly altered their original culture and face’s. We also find people of Tafilalet, Sous, and Sagho, neighbors attracted by the palm grove’s wealth.

The tribe, ranked as tribe of Muslim right in 1936, was divided in four fractions. A Khalifa of Glaoui and a few Cheikhs administer it. Linguistically, they are the link between Beraber group of Tamazirtdomain and the Chleuhs group of Tachelhaït domain. Between the two groups lies a transition zone.

Ksours of this tribe are grouped at the bottom, or at the mouth of the southern valleys of the High Atlas. Under the Almohades, they were part of the Haskoura confederation, which capital was Demnate. Steadfast, sober, battlers, the Imerghan would easily take part in road blocking and cattle theft. The Glaoua subjected them at the beginning of the 20th century and placed by 1932 under the control of Indigenous affairs. In the summer, families leave some guardians in the village and settle in the Azibs in the mountains, on their collective land. In the fall, herds graze in the surroundings area of the Ksours while the tribe begins to till. In the winter, sheep keepers come closer to the Dades Oued while some others reach the northern slopes of Sagho.

Today, the palm grove counts many Douars (villages) where inhabitants live from the most part from agriculture (dates, olives, almonds, feed, alfalfa, barley; as well as fruit trees such as apple, apricot, fig, grenade, and grape). Apiculture is widely spread, developed and encouraged.

Life from cultivation and rich biodiversity is therefore maintained.

Some craftsmen perpetuate ancestral traditions, such as pottery and basketry. Skoura beneficiates a new source of revenue from tourism. Many guesthouses and hostels have opened during the past years whether by foreigners or locals. By the end of the 20th century, typical Kasbahs have been remodeled into luxury hotels.

Skoura, in popular culture is known to have been the scene of various Moroccan and Foreigner films